Kastuś Jezavitaŭ (; also known as Kanstancin Barysavič Jezavitaŭ, ; 17 November 1893 – 23 May 1946) was a political and military leader within the

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian independence movement of the early 20th century.

Early years

Jezavitaŭ was born into the family of a military officer in the city of Dźvinsk,

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most ...

of the Russian Empire (nowadays

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

). He studied in Dźvinsk and graduated from the Viciebsk Teachers' Institute. Jezavitaŭ then completed the Pavlovsk Military College in St. Petersburg in 1916.

Involvement in the Belarusian independence movement

Jezavitaŭ became involved in the

Belarusian independence movement Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

in 1913 by joining the Belarusian Socialist Assembly (Hramada). After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

, he began to organize Belarusian groups among soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army and joined the Belarusian Military Council. He took active part in the

First All-Belarusian Congress The First All-Belarusian Congress () was a congress of Belarusian political organisations and groups held in Minsk in December 1917. The congress gathered 1872 delegates from all regions of Belarus and was violently dispersed by the Bolshevik mil ...

, was arrested by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

secret police

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

but managed to escape. After the retreat of the Red Army, Jezavitaŭ became the Belarusian commander of the city of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

when the Belarusian administration took power on 19 February 1918. He was elected to the provisional Belarusian Government in February 1918 and was involved in the declaration of independence of the

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...

on 25 March 1918. From 1918 to 1920 Jezavitaŭ served the

Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic The Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic (, ) was the governing body of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Since 1919, the Rada BNR has been in exile where it has preserved its existence among the Belarusian diaspora as an advocacy group ...

in various capacities first as Minister of Defence and then as a military attaché in newly independent

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. He also established diplomatic relations with the governments of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, sought military assistance from the government of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and was instrumental in securing diplomatic recognition of the Belarusian Democratic Republic by the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

and Finland.Арлоў, Уладзімер (2020).
ІМЁНЫ СВАБОДЫ (Бібліятэка Свабоды. ХХІ стагодзьдзе.)
' 'Uładzimir Arłou. The Names of Freedom (The Library of Freedom. ХХІ century.)''">Uładzimir_Arłou.html" ;"title="'Uładzimir Arłou">'Uładzimir Arłou. The Names of Freedom (The Library of Freedom. ХХІ century.)''(PDF) (in Belarusian) (4-е выд., дап. ed.). Радыё Свабодная Эўропа / Радыё Свабода - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. pp. 228–229. Since March 14, 1919 Jezavitaŭ was the commander of the 1st Belarusian Regiment in Grodno. On April 15, Polish troops marching on Vilnius began to enter Grodno. Jezavitaŭ went to Warsaw with Jurgis Šaulys as part of the Lithuanian diplomatic mission. Colonel Uspienski, who replaced him, signed an agreement with the Polish command on April 23, under which the Belarusian regiment remained part of the Lithuanian army, but was subordinated to the Polish command. After returning from Warsaw on April 24, Jezavitaŭ defied the agreement and wanted to evacuate the regiment from Grodno. However, the German and Lithuanian defense ministries opposed this step. As a result, Jezavitaŭ surrendered command to Colonel Antonov and went to Kaunas. It is likely that this was also the will of the government of the Belarusian People's Republic, which in April changed its position to favor Poland.

Later life

After the defeat of the Belarusian independence movement by the Red Army, Jezavitaŭ went into exile and settled in his native Dźvinsk (which became part of Latvia pursuant to the 1920 Latvian-Soviet Peace Treaty and was renamed Daugavpils) where he lived until 1944. He organised a number of Belarusian schools and organisations within the local Belarusian community and edited several Belarusian periodicals in Latvia. In 1944 Jezavitaŭ joined the

Belarusian Central Council The Belarusian Central Council (; ) was a puppet administrative body in German-occupied Belarus during World War II. It was established by Nazi Germany within ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' in 1943–44, following requests by collaborationist Be ...

in Minsk and was appointed its Defence Minister.

Death

Jezavitaŭ was captured by the Soviet intelligence

SMERSH SMERSH () was an umbrella organization for three independent counter-intelligence agencies in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially announced only on 14 April 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin. The form ...

in 1945. He died in incarceration in Minsk on 23 May 1946. The official causes of his death were tuberculosis and dystrophy but some sources believe that he was executed.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jezavitaŭ, Kastuś 1893 births 1946 deaths People from Daugavpils People from Dvinsky Uyezd Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Members of the Belarusian Central Council Belarusian independence movement Russian military personnel of World War I Belarusian military personnel Prisoners who died in Soviet detention